Small-sized low frequency curing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus which can be applied directly to the object to be stimulated such as a body or the like. 
     Generating high frequency boosted pulses by electrical energy from a small-sized power source, accumulating the boosted pulses temporarily until a predetermined amount at which stimulation is effective for the organism is reached, and then discharging the accumulated charges to generate low frequency pulses having an effective amplitude for the stimulation as an electrical stimulation. Thus, it is possible to apply a sufficient magnitude of and a stable electrical stimulation to an object to be stimulated regardless of the small capacity of the small-sized power source.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/090,247,filed July 31, 1987, now abandoned.

DESCRIPTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a small-sized low frequency curingapparatus capable of providing an electrical stimulation subject such asan organism with a required electrical stimulation regardless of a smallcapacity of a power supply and, in particular, to a small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus which can be applied directly to the organismand can be produced in a smallest possible size.

2. Background Art

Conventionally, there has been provided and employed an endermicelectrical stimulation apparatus, i.e., a so-called low frequency curingapparatus, which has a size such that it is portable and can be applied.However, an apparatus which has a light weight and a size such that itrequires no lead line and can be applied to the skin like a bandage, apoultice and the like has not yet been provided. To provide an apparatuswhich has a light weight and a size such that it can be applied to theskin, as a power supply thereof, a micro battery or small-sized batterysuch as a button battery, a paper battery and the like must be used.When a small-sized power supply is used, however, the following problemsinevitably arise. That is, a skin impedance represents a high resistancevalue, due to the tissue structure, and accordingly, the application oflow frequency high voltage is necessary to supply a cenesthesic lowfrequency stimulation current, and a boosting means is necessary togenerate a high voltage from a low power supply voltage. Cenesthesicelectrical stimulation requires a predetermined voltage value andcurrent value. In a small-sized power supply such as a small-sizedbattery, however, the internal impedance is increased as the dischargecurrent is increased. Accordingly, it is difficult to realize the aboveconditions.

It has been considered that the above problems can be solved byemploying a method including the steps of accumulating battery energy toan extent such that stimulation can be applied to the organism, anddischarging this accumulated energy. To effect the setting of the timingof the charge and discharge, or the operation thereof, several activeelements are needed, but in many cases, to actually operate such activeelements, a supply of a stable required electrical energy is necessary.Therefore, it is almost impossible to meet these conditions by employingthe energy of a small-sized battery or a boosted energy obtained byboosting said energy, in the light of the duration time of the batteryenergy and the battery capacity. Still further, under the conditions ofan unstable voltage, a drawback arises in that excessive energy isdischarged and dissipated. Accordingly, a practical low frequency curingapparatus using a small-sized battery has not yet been provided.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus capable of applying cenesthesic electricalstimulation to an organism even though it is constituted from a smallnumber of elements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus capable of supplying long-time and stableelectrical stimulation irrespective of the amount of energy of asmall-sized power supply.

The above-mentioned objects can be attained by providing a small-sizedlow frequency curing apparatus comprising: a small-sized power source;boosted pulse generating means for generating a train of boosted pulsesupon a receipt of electrical energy from the small-sized power source;accumulating means constituted to receive a train of pulses from theboosted pulse generating means and accumulate electrical energy at leastto a predetermined amount at which stimulation effective for an objectto be electrically stimulated is reached; and a low frequency pulseoutputting means for outputting low frequency pulses when thepredetermined amount of electrical energy accumulated in theaccumulating means reaches a level at which stimulation is possible forthe object to be stimulated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a fundamental constitution of thesmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus according to the presentinvention;

FIGS. 2A to 2D are diagrams showing the signal waveform of each point inthe apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are circuit diagrams showing an example of theconstitution of the boosted pulse generating means shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the construction ofthe accumulating means and low frequency pulse outputting means shown inFIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are diagrams showing the low frequency current waveformfor explaining the operation of the de-polarization means shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the de-polarizationmeans;

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of thede-polarization means;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram showing the construction of the small-sizedlow frequency curing apparatus as an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are circuit diagrams showing the construction of thesmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus as another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a modifiedexample of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B;

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram showing the construction of the small-sizedlow frequency curing apparatus as still another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the construction ofthe small-sized power source and boosted pulse generating means shown inFIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a modifiedexample of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shownin FIG. 11, illustrating an example of the constitution of the circuitwhen about to operate upon the wearer;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shownin FIG. 11, illustrating an example of the constitution of the circuitautomatically stopping the operation after start of the operation;

FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram showing the construction of a modifiedexample of the embodiment shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shownin FIG. 11, illustrating an example of the constitution of the circuitabout to start to operate upon the wearer and automatically stopping theoperation after the start of the operation;

FIGS. 18A and 18B are diagrams showing an example of the overallconstruction of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatus of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing another example of the overallconstruction; and,

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing still another example of the overallconstruction.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a fundamental constitution of thesmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus according to the presentinvention, and FIGS. 2A to 2D show the signal waveform of each point inthe apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the low frequency curing apparatus of the presentinvention is constituted by a small-sized power supply 1, a boostedpulse generating means 2 constituted by an oscillating circuit 21 and aboosting circuit 22, an accumulating means 3, a low frequency pulseoutputting means 4 constituted by a switch control circuit 41 and aswitch 42, and preferably, a de-polarization means 5. K and F denote anelectrode participating in curing and an electrode not participating incuring, respectively. In the boosted pulse generating means 2, theoscillating circuit 21 oscillates pulses upon receipt of the powersupply from the small-sized power source 1, and the boosting circuit 22,likewise upon receipt of the power supply from the small-sized powersource 1, boosts the amplitude value of the oscillated pulses (see FIG.2A) several times and outputs them to the output end a. These boostedpulses, e.g., pulses having a pulse width of 1 μsec and a frequency of2.5 kHz, are input to the accumulating means 3 and accumulated therein.The waveform at the output end b of the accumulating means 3 is shown inFIG. 2B. In the low frequency pulse outputting means 4, the switchcontrol circuit 41 compares the voltage appearing at the output end bwith the predetermined potential V_(ref), and outputs a control signalto the switch 42 when the former exceeds the latter. Thus, the switch 42is turned ON and the accumulated charges in the accumulating means 3 aredischarged. When the constant potential is reached, the switch controlcircuit 41 stops outputting the control signal, resulting in an OFFstate of the switch 42, and the low frequency pulse outputting means 4outputs the low frequency pulses, e.g., pulses having a pulse width of0.3 msec and a frequency of 5 Hz, to the output end c, as shown in FIG.2C. These low frequency pulses are applied via the electrode K to theorganism tissue. In this regard, preferably polarization chargesgenerated in the organism tissue are discharged through thede-polarization means 5, and in this case, the waveform appearing at theoutput end d is shown in FIG. 2D.

Further, the pulse width and frequency of the pulses oscillated by theboosted pulse generating means 2 can be suitably selected according tothe output frequency and pulse width of the switch control circuit 41provided at the succeeding stage; 1 kHz to several hundreds kHz beingnormally selected.

Next, each of the constituent elements will be described in detail.

(a) Small-sized Power Source

The small-sized power source illustrated in the present examplecomprises a single or a plurality of button-type batteries, sheet-typebatteries, coin-type batteries, cylinder-type batteries, pin-typebatteries and the like. Although the configuration of the small-sizedpower source is not particularly restricted, a small-sized, thin-typeand light-weight battery is preferable. Also, chargeable secondarybatteries and the like can be used.

(b) Boosted Pulse Generating Means (see FIGS. 3A and 3B)

The boosted pulse generating means 2 is constituted by a combination ofan oscillator such as an astable multivibrator and a boosting meansconsisting of an inductor, a transformer or a charged-pump type boostingcircuit, or by an oscillator integrally having the boosting functionsuch as shown in a blocking oscillator. For example, the self-runningblocking oscillating circuit shown in FIG. 3A as an example canoscillate the boosted pulses by means of a transformer consisting of abase side coil L₁ and a collector side coil L₂, and a transistor TR.First, current from the power supply E through the resistor R₀ issupplied to the base of the transistor TR, resulting in an ON state ofthe transistor. Thus, current flows through the coil L₂ and thepotential at the output terminal OUT is changed from +E to 0. By thecurrent flowing through the coil L₂, voltage is induced in the coil L₁in the direction in which the charges of the capacitor C₀ are pulledout. As a result, the base potential of the transistor TR is lowered,resulting in an OFF state of the transistor, and the potential at theoutput terminal OUT is changed from 0 to +E. That is, the boosted pulsesare oscillated through the switching operation of the transistor TR bythe counter electro-motive force induced in the coil L₂. In this case, acycle T of the oscillated pulses is represented by T =C₀ ·R₀ ·1_(n)(1+n). The illustration of FIG. 3A shows a most preferable example ofthe boosted pulse generating means capable of generating boosted pulseseven though it is constituted by a small number of elements, and amodified example thereof is shown in FIG. 3B. The illustration of FIG.3B shows as example in which the level of the base potential of thetransistor TR is stabilized by adding diodes D₁ to D₃, and the usuallystable boosted pulses can be oscillated regardless of a change in thevoltage of the power source E.

(c) Accumulating Means and Low Frequency Pulse Outputting Means (seeFIG. 4)

The accumulating means 3 and the low frequency pulse outputting means 4define a means for accumulating the electrical energy of boosted pulsesoutput from the boosted pulse generating means 2, and a means foroutputting the accumulated charges, and the pulse width of pulsesrepresented by the discharge charges is defined by the amountaccumulated. The means 4 is constituted by the switch control circuit 41which compares the charged amount in the accumulating means, i.e., thepotential, with the predetermined threshold voltage V_(ref) and outputsa signal when the former exceeds the latter, and by the switch 42 fordischarging the accumulated charges in the accumulating means inresponse to the signal from the switch control circuit. In this case, toenable the use of a small number of circuit elements and approximate thewaveform of the transduced low frequency pulse to a rectangularwaveform, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a negative resistance elementN connected in parallel with the capacitor C (accumulating means) isemployed. The boosted pulses input to the terminal IN from the boostedpulse generating means 2 are charged to the capacitor C and charged tothe capacitor C₁ with the time constant C₁ ·R₁ by the capacitor C₁ andthe resistor R₁. Thus, the potential at the anode terminal A of thenegative resistance element N is gradually increased, and when thispotential exceeds the potential at the gate terminal G, i.e., voltageV_(ref) determined by the ratio of the resistors R₂ and R₃, the elementN is brought to the ON state. At this time, the accumulated charges inthe capacitors C and C₁ are discharged via the negative resistanceelement N and the element is brought to the OFF state at the inherentlower threshold thereof. More concretely, when the boosted pulses havinga pulse width of 1 μsec, an amplitude of 24 V, and a frequency of 1 kHzto several hundreds kHz are input from the input terminal IN in FIG. 4,the capacitor C of 1 μF is charged to an extent such that the negativeresistance element N is turned ON, the element N keeps the ON time atabout 0.3 msec, and a single low frequency pulse having an amplitude of24 V is output from the terminal OUT. Thereafter, by repitition of theabove operation, a sequence of low frequency pulses having a frequencyof 5 Hz, a pulse width of 0.3 msec, and an amplitude of 24 V are output.

As explained above, the combination of the negative resistance elementN, the capacitors C, C₁, and the resistors R, R₁ constitutes arelaxation oscillator in which the oscillated pulses having a highenergy are obtained by discharging the charges mainly in the capacitorC. The negative resistance element N is a current limiting resistanceelement, and concretely, may be a UJJ (unijunction transistor), a SIDAC,a PUT (programmable unijunction transistor), an n-type SCR or thyristoror the like, and is not particularly restricted. Also, employing therelaxation oscillator using a negative resistance element as a switchingmeans and applying the voltage discharged from the accumulating meansdirectly to the electrode are most preferable forms of implementation,since periodically stable low frequency pulses can be thus generated. Aconcrete application is shown in FIG. 8 as stated later.

Further, the accumulated amount should be a value sufficient forgenerating the stimulation current and is determined by the capacity ofthe accumulating means. Also, the discharge starting voltage anddischarge stopping voltage are determined by the inherent value of thenegative resistance element N, i.e., the time constant of the relaxationoscillator constituted by the negative resistance element.

Also, a PUT is preferably employed since the turn-ON voltage thereof isdetermined by the resistor connected to the anode side thereof.

The accumulating means should have an accumulating function, and anaccumulatable diode or inductor such as a capacitor, a varicap and thelike can be employed.

(d) De-polarization Means (see FIGS. 5A to 5C, 6 and 7)

If the pulses applied to the organism have the rectangular waveform asshown, for example, in FIG. 5A, charges (polarization charges) remainingwithin the organism tissue are indicated by the state as shown in FIG.5B. In this state, when the cycle of the pulses to be applied isshortened, the supply of current to the organism is blocked by theremaining charges, resulting in very little cenesthesic stimulation.Additionally, when the voltage value of the pulses to be applied issmall, the polarization influence is great.

Therefore, the de-polarization means 5 are preferably provided as shownin FIG. 1. As this means, a means for short-cutting the electrodes K andF at a predetermined point of time in the OFF duration of the pulses tobe applied or a resistor having a predetermined resistance value can beemployed. The short-cutting means can be set so as to operate at apredetermined time during the OFF duration of the pulses. For example,by utilizing the switching operation of the transistor, the ON state canbe set for a predetermined time. According to the above constitution, anoutput having a great amplitude as shown in FIG. 5C can be generated inresponse to the input as shown in FIG. 5A. Also, when employing a meansusing the above resistor, if the value of the resistor is set to a valueby taking a skin resistance into consideration, an effectivedepolarization operation can be effected even under continualinstallation conditions. This is a preferable embodiment from theviewpoint of minimization. Regarding the value of the resistor, about100 kΩ at maximum is suitable. Also, the OFF duration of the pulsesindicates a time interval from a fall of a certain pulse to a rise of anext pulse. Preferably, the de-polarization operation is effected at atime of the fall of a pulse.

An embodiment of the de-polarization means is shown in FIG. 6, in which61 denotes a power supply, 62 the boosted pulse generating means, and 63the low frequency pulse outputting means including the accumulatingmeans. 64 denotes a switching means (field effect transistor) which isturned ON when the pulse output from the low frequency pulse outputtingmeans 63 is present, and turned OFF when it is absent. 65 denotes aswitching means (field effect transistor) which is turned ON and OFFunder reverse conditions to the conditions in the switching means 64. 66is a resistor used as the de-polarization means, which is connected inseries with the switching means 65. RZ shown in the broken lineindicates a skin impedance. According to the constitution shown in FIG.6, the low frequency pulses output from low frequency pulse outputtingmeans 63 are applied via the switching means 64 and the electrode K tothe load, i.e., the organism. When the pulse falls, the switching means64 is turned OFF and the switching means 65 turned ON. Thus, thepolarization charges generated by the pulses applied to the load RZ aredischarged via the switching means 65. As a further embodiment of thede-polarization means, an arrangement can be employed in which theresistance body and short-circuited state is set and the polarizationcharges are collected in the circuit, instead of being discharged, andare used as part of the power supply voltage. In this case, it ispossible to decrease the amount of power consumption and use an evenlonger time.

An embodiment in which the polarization charges are collected asdescribed above is shown in FIG. 7, in which 71 denotes a power supply.The power supply 71 is a power supply for operating the apparatus of thepresent invention and for accumulating electrical energy generated bythe collection of the polarization charges, and consists of, e.g., asecondary battery and a capacitor. 72 denotes the boosted pulsegenerating means and 73 denotes the low frequency pulse outputting meansincluding the accumulating means. 74 denotes a switching means which isturned OFF when the output from the low frequency pulse outputting means73 is present, and is turned ON when it is absent. 75 denotes aswitching means which is turned ON when the output from the lowfrequency pulse outputting means 73 is present, and is turned OFF whenit is absent. 76 denotes a transformer, the primary side of which isconnected between the output of the low frequency pulse outputting meansand the electrode K. Regarding the secondary side, one end is groundedand the other end is connected via a forward-direction-connected diode77 to the power supply 71. RZ shown in the broken line denotes a loadindicating a skin impedance. According to the constitution shown in FIG.7, the low frequency pulses output from the low frequency pulseoutputting means 73 are applied via the switching means 75, the primaryside of the transformer 76, and the electrode K to the load. When thepulse falls, the switching means 75 is turned OFF and the switchingmeans 74 is turned ON. Thus, the polarization charges generated by thepulses applied to the load RZ are discharged via the switching means 74.At this time, a voltage is induced in the secondary side of thetransformer 76 and the current generated by the induced voltage iscollected via the diode 77 at the power supply 71.

Additionally, means for collecting the polarization charges can besuitably selected by connecting another battery in parallel in the powersource side, changing the turns of the transformer, or providing avoltage dropping means using resistors at a midway point, when thevoltage by the polarization charges is higher than the power supplyvoltage.

Next, a variety of embodiments of the small-sized low frequency curingapparatus according to the present invention will be described indetail.

A circuit diagram of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatus asan embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 8.

One end (+ side) of a power supply 810 using a button-type batteryhaving a nominal voltage of 1.5 V (LR44: Matsushita Electric IndustrialCo., Ltd.) is connected via the primary winding of a transformer 823 tothe collector of an emitter-grounded NPN type transistor 822. Regardingthe secondary winding of the transformer 823, one end is grounded andthe other end is connected via a capacitor 820 to the base of thetransistor 822. Also, a resistor 821 is connected between one end of thepower source 810 and the base, and constitutes a self-running blockingoscillator (boosted pulse generating means) together with theconstituent elements 810, 820, 822, and 823. The collector of thetransistor 822, i.e., the output end of the blocking oscillator, isconnected via a forward-direction-connected diode 830 to one end of acapacitor 831 and the electrode K. The other end of the capacitor 831 isgrounded. Also, in parallel with the capacitor 831, a resistor 842 and acapacitor 843 connected in series with each other, and resistors 844 and845 connected in series with each other are connected. 841 denotes a PUT(programmable unijunction transistor), an anode A of which is connectedto the connection point between the resistor 842 and the capacitor 843,a gate G thereof is connected to the connection point between theresistors 844 and 845, and a cathode K thereof is grounded via aresistor 846. The constituent elements 841 to 846 constitute arelaxation oscillator 840.

The output end of the relaxation oscillator 840, i.e., the cathode K ofthe PUT 841, is connected via a resistor 847 to the base of an NPN typeswitching transistor 848. The collector of the switching transistor 848is connected to the electrode F and the emitter thereof is grounded. Aresistor 850 for effecting de-polarization is connected between theelectrodes K and F. In FIG. 8, the portion shown by the broken line SKcorresponds to the low frequency pulse outputting means.

Next, the operation of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatusshown in FIG. 8 will be described.

First, a DC voltage of 1.5 V from the power supply 810 is applied to thetransformer 823 and input via the primary winding thereof to thecollector of the transistor 822. Based on the voltage induced in thesecondary side of the transformer 823 and the capacitor 820 charging ordischarging via the resistor 821, the transistor 822 effects a switchingoperation. At this time, a counter electro-motive force generated in thetransformer 823 is boosted to 25 V and input via the diode 830 to thecapacitor 831. In this case, emission of the accumulated charges to theboosted pulse generating means is blocked by the inverse bias of thediode 830. When the accumulated charges in the capacitor 831 areincreased, simultaneously the potential of the capacitor 843 in therelaxation oscillator 840 including the PUT 841 rises. When thispotential exceeds the potential at the gate G, the PUT 841 is brought tothe ON state. At this time, the charges in the capacitor 843 aredischarged via the PUT 841 and input to the base of the transistor 848,resulting in an ON state of the transistor 848. As a result, the chargesin the capacitor 831 are supplied via the electrode K to the load, i.e.,the organism. In this case, low frequency pulses are set to a frequencyof 5 Hz and a pulse width of 0.3 msec. Charges of the PUT 841 in therelaxation oscillator 840 are decreased by discharging, and when acertain amount of charges is reached, the transistor 848 is turned OFF.Thereafter, the accumulating operation of the capacitor 831 is againeffected and the above-mentioned operation is repeated. In the quiescentperiod of the low frequency pulses, the charges polarized in theorganism are discharged via the resistor 850 and the de-polarizationoperation is effected.

Additionally, the cycle of the low frequency pulses is determined by thecharging speed determined by the resistor 842 and the capacitor 843 inthe relaxation oscillator 840, and the switching operation determined bythe resistor 845 and the inherent value of the PUT 841.

Also, the pulse width of the high frequency boosted pulses is determinedby an inductance and a stray capacitance of the transformer 823, and thecycle thereof is determined by a product of a value of the resistor 821and a value of the capacitor 820. However, the above is not restrictiveand can be suitably selected.

As described above in detail, according to the embodiment based on thecircuit constitution in FIG. 8, it is possible to realize an apparatuswhich consists of a very small number of circuit elements, can be usedat a low power supply voltage and minimized to an extent such that itcan be applied.

Additionally, although the low frequency output pulses take the form ofperiodically outputting rectangular pulses, they can take the form oftrapezoidal waves, modified waves and the like. Also, it is possible toadapt the output pulses to a variety of cenesthesic stimulation forms bynon-periodically outputting such modified waves. In this case, theamplitude, cycle and waveform of the output pulses are suitablyselected.

Circuit diagrams of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatus asanother embodiment of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 9A and9B. A circuit in FIG. 9A corresponds to the small-sized power source 1and the boosted pulse generating means 2 shown in FIG. 1, and a circuitin FIG. 9B corresponds to the accumulating means 3, the low frequencypulse outputting means 4 and the de-polarization means 5 shown inFIG. 1. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B provides a low frequencycuring apparatus capable of boosting the amplitude of the output lowfrequency pulses substantially up to two times or more.

First, in FIG. 9A, 910 denotes a power source using a button-typebattery having a nominal voltage of 1.5 V (LR44: Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Ltd.). In parallel with this power source 910, acapacitor 911 for stabilizing voltage and an astable multivibrator AMV(shown in the broken line) are connected. Also, one end (- side) of thepower source 910 is grounded and the other end (+ side) is connected toone end of an inductor 924. The other end (terminal 90A) of the inductor924 is connected to the collector of an NPN type transistor 923 and theemitter (terminal 90B) of the transistor is connected to one end (-side) of the power source 910. The output of the astable multivibratorAMV, i.e., the collector of the transistor 920, is connected via aresistor 921 and a capacitor 922 connected in parallel with each otherto the base of the transistor 923. Output terminals 90A and 90B areconnected to input terminals 90A and 90B in FIG. 9B.

In FIG. 9B, a forward-direction-connected diode 941 and twobackward-direction-connected Zener diodes 942, 943 are connected inseries between the terminals 90A and 90B. A capacitor 944 is connectedin parallel with the Zener diode 943, one end of the capacitor 944 isconnected via a resistor 945 to the gate G of the PUT 946, and the otherend of the capacitor 944 is connected via a resistor 947 to the cathodeK of the PUT 946. The terminal 90A is connected via twoforward-direction-connected diodes 948 and 949 to the collector of anNPN type transistor 930 and one end of a capacitor 931. The other end ofthe capacitor 931 is connected via a forward-direction-connected diode933 to the terminal 90B, the emitter of the transistor 930 is connectedto the terminal 90B, and the base thereof is connected via a resistor940 to the cathode K of the PUT 946. Also, the terminal 90A is connectedvia a forward-direction-connected diode 951 to a resistor 952, acapacitor 932 and the electrode K. The resistor 952 is connected to theanode A of the PUT 946 and connected via a capacitor 953 to the terminal90B. The other end of the capacitor 932 is also connected to theterminal 90B. Also, the emitter of an NPN type transistor 934 isconnected to the anode side of the diode 933, the collector of thetransistor is connected to the electrode F, and the base thereof isconnected via a resistor 935 to the terminal 90B. A resistor 950 as thede-polarization means is connected in parallel between the electrodes Kand F.

The voltage supplied by the power source portion constituted by thepower source 910 and the capacitor 911 having a large capacity andconnected in parallel with the power source is applied to the astablemultivibrator AMV and the inductor 924. The ON and OFF operation of thetransistor 920 constituting part of the astable multivibrator AMVgenerates high frequency pulses, which turn the switching transistor 923ON and OFF. On the other hand, the boosting inductor 924 accumulatescharges in the OFF state of the transistor 923, and emits current in theON state of the transistor 923. By the counter electro-motive forcegenerated through the ON and OFF operation of the transistor 923, thesupply voltage is boosted several times and output at the terminal 90A.

Additionally, regarding the astable multivibrator AMV, the value of eachelement is selected so that the oscillating frequency is about 1 kHz to100 kHz.

Also, the capacitor 922 is connected in parallel with the resistor 921so as to increase the speed of the switching operation of the transistor923.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment of the apparatus will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 9B.

The voltage input from the terminal 90A indicates boosted pulses outputat the output end 90A in FIG. 9A, the voltage of which is made constantby the Zener diode 942 and supplied to the resistor 945. In this case,the Zener diode 943 shapes the amplitude of the boosted pulses, and thecapacitor 944 makes the voltage of the pulses constant and decreases thechange in the voltage supplied to the resistor 945. Also, the boostedpulses are supplied via the diode 951 to the resistor 952 and thecapacitor 953, and to the capacitor 932. On the other hand, the boostedpulses are supplied via two diodes 948 and 949 to the capacitor 931 andaccumulated therein. When the potential of the capacitor 953 graduallyrises and the anode potential exceeds the gate potential given throughthe resistor 945, the PUT 946 is brought to the ON state. Thus, chargesof the capacitor 953 flow through the PUT 946. When the charges aresupplied via the resistor 940 to the base of the switching transistor930, this transistor 930 is turned ON. The accumulated charges in thecapacitor 931 are discharged via the switching transistor 930 andsupplied via the resistor 935 to the base of the switching transistor934. Thus, the switching transistor 934 is brought to the ON state andthe capacitor 932 starts to discharge. Therefore, the capacitors 932 and931 are brought to the series-connection state through the switchingtransistor 930 in the ON state. As a result, the charges of thecapacitor 931 and those of the capacitor 932 are added, and the lowfrequency pulse voltage is applied via the electrode K to the organism.In this case, the voltage to be applied is substantially twice that ofthe embodiment in FIG. 8, since the series-connection state is realized.Since the switching transistor 934 is in the ON state, a closed circuitincluding a skin resistance is formed and the currents flow based on thedual voltages applied via the electrode K to the skin.

The generation of low frequency pulses is carried out by the ON and OFFoperation of the switching transistor 934, the cycle thereof isdetermined by an inherent value of the PUT 946 and a resistance value ofthe resistor 945, and the frequency thereof is suitably selected to be 1Hz to several hundreds Hz.

On the other hand, when the switching transistor 934 is in the OFFstate, a de-polarization operation is effected since the polarizationcharges generated by the low frequency pulse voltage applied to the skinin the ON state of the switching transistor 934 are discharged via theresistor 950. Also, two series-connected diodes 948 and 949 are providedfor preventing the boosting inductor 924 from being destroyed by thedischarging operation of the capacitor 931 based on the switchingoperation of the switching transistor 930 and preventing the overcurrentflow into the boosting inductor 924 in the ON state of the switchingtransistor 930.

A circuit diagram of a modified example of the small-sized low frequencycuring apparatus shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B is shown in FIG. 10. Thefeature of this circuit is that the charges accumulated in a capacitor111 participating in the ON and OFF operation of a PUT 114 are utilizedas energy of the low frequency output pulse. Regarding the constitutionform of the boosted pulse generating means, the fundamental constitutionis the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiments, although thereis a minor difference. Thus, only the operation thereof will bedescribed.

First, when the current from a power supply 101 is supplied to the baseof a transistor 108, the transistor 108 is turned ON, resulting in acurrent flow through an inductor 107. The induced current by theinductor 107 flows through an inductor 106. By this induced current, acapacitor 105 is charged via a diode 102 and a resistor 104 so that thebase side of the transistor 108 is at a negative level. As a result, thetransistor 108 is turned OFF and then the charges accumulated in thecapacitor 105 are discharged via the resistors 104 and 103. Thus, thebase potential of the transistor 108 is inverted from negative topositive, and the transistor 108 is turned ON again. Therefore, boostedpulses generated through the ON and OFF operation appear at thecollector of the transistor 108 and are charged via diodes 109 and 110to capacitors 111 and 112, respectively. In this case, the capacitor 111is gradually charged because it is charged via a resistor 113. Theterminal voltage of the capacitor 111 is supplied as the anode voltageof the PUT 114. This anode voltage is compared with the gate voltage setby a resistor 115, and when the former exceeds the latter, the PUT 114is turned ON. When the PUT 114 is turned ON, the charges of thecapacitor 111 are discharged via the PUT, output at the terminal K, andsupplied via a resistor 116 to the base of a transistor 117. Thus, thetransistor 117 is turned ON.

In this case, when the organism impedance is connected between theterminals K and F, the discharging current from the capacitor 111 flowsthrough the PUT 114, terminal K, organism, terminal F, capacitor 112,and transistor 117 into the capacitor 111, i.e., in the form of a loop.At this time, since the capacitor 112 is discharged in a like manner,the energy of the capacitor to be substantially applied to the organismis the sum of the energy of the capacitor 111 and that of the capacitor112. After the discharge of the capacitors 111 and 112, the anodevoltage is decreased, resulting in an OFF state of the PUT 114. Whilethe PUT 114 is in the OFF state, the polarization charges generatedwithin the organism are discharged via the resistor 116 and thede-polarization operation is effected.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, an arrangement using a PUTas a switching element in the low frequency pulse outputting means isdescribed. However, the PUT is an element effecting the ON and OFFoperation based on the relationship of the magnitude between the anodepotential and the gate potential, and this gate potential may beinfluenced by the change in the power source voltage, as is obvious fromthe aforementioned circuit arrangements. To solve this problem, severalcircuit arrangements proposed by the present applicant will behereinafter described in detail.

A circuit diagram of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatus asstill another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 11.

In FIG. 11, 210 denotes a small-sized power source and 220 denotes theboosted pulse generating means, a concrete arrangement of which is shownin FIG. 12. In FIG. 11, the output of the boosted pulse generating means220 is connected to the anode of a diode 230, and the cathode of thediode is connected to a capacitor 231, a resistor 240, and the emitterof a transistor 241, respectively. The capacitor 231 is a means foraccumulating the output of the boosted pulse generating means 220. Thetransistor 241 is used as a switch and, in this case, a PNP typetransistor is used. The other end of the resistor 240 is connected viathe base of the transistor 241 and a resistor 242 to the cathode of aZener diode 243. The anode of this Zener diode 243 is connected to atriggering diode 244 (hereinafter referred to as a diac (DIC) 244) and acapacitor 245. The DIC 244 and the capacitor 245 are connected inparallel. The collector of the transistor 241 is connected to the outputend (electrode K). The DIC 244 is turned ON by the occurrence of abreakdown in the predetermined terminal-to-terminal voltage.Additionally, the operation of the above DIC can be realized bysubstituting an element such as an SRD, an SSS and the like. Thus, theelement is not restricted to a DIC. A resistor 250 as thede-polarization means is connected between the electrodes K and F.

Next, the operation of the apparatus in FIG. 11 will be described usingFIG. 12.

First, electrical energy from a micro battery 211 such as a button-typebattery in the small-sized power source 210 is input to an oscillatingcircuit 221. This oscillating circuit 221 constitutes an astablemultivibrator and generates rectangular wave pulses having a higherfrequency than the stimulation pulses. The rectangular wave pulses areinput to a transistor 223, resulting in an ON and OFF of the currentflowing through an inductor 224. Thus, a counter electro-motive force isgenerated in the inductor 224, i.e., the boosted pulses obtained byboosting the energy of the micro battery 211 are output at the outputend a. This output end a in FIG. 12 corresponds to a node a shown inFIG. 11, and the boosted pulses are accumulated via the diode 230 at thecapacitor 231.

At this time, the terminal voltage of the capacitor 231 gradually risesand the capacitor 245 is gradually charged via the resistors 240, 242,and the Zener diode 243. The terminal voltage of the DIC 244 isgradually increased by the charging in the capacitor 245, and when thevoltage reaches the breakdown voltage, the DIC 244 is turned ONresulting in a quick discharge of the charges accumulated in thecapacitor 245. At the same time, since the base potential of thetransistor 241 is decreased, resulting in a voltage difference betweenthe base and the emitter, the transistor 241 is turned ON and,accordingly, the energy accumulated in the capacitor 231 is output atthe output end K.

On the other hand, since the capacitor 245 is discharged and itsterminal voltage decreased, resulting in a decrease in the currentsflowing through the DIC 244, the DIC 244 is turned OFF. Also, since thecapacitor 231 is discharged and the emitter potential of the transistor241 is decreased, the transistor 241 is brought to the OFF state.Thereafter, energy is accumulated again in the capacitor 231 and thecapacitor 245. When the transistor 241 is in the OFF state, thepolarization charges accumulated in the organism are discharged via theresistor 250 and the de-polarization operation is effected.

By repeating the above process, the low frequency stimulation pulses aregenerated. The pulse width thereof is determined by the resistors 240,242, the capacitor 245, and the magnitude of the organism impedance.

The intensity of the low frequency output pulses in the embodiment inFIG. 11 depends upon the capacitance of the capacitor 231 and theaccumulation potential. For example, an embodiment where the capacitanceof the capacitor 231 is limited, or where the voltage of boosted pulsesfrom the boosted pulse generating means is not sufficient, will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 13.

The illustrating of FIG. 13 indicates the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9Aand 9B, i.e., the low frequency curing apparatus capable of boosting theamplitude of the low frequency pulses by two times or more.

In FIG. 13, the small-sized power source 210 and the boosted pulsegenerating means 220 have the same constitution as those in FIG. 11.

The output of the boosted pulse generating means 220 is connected to theanode of a diode 330 and the cathode of the diode 330 is connected to acapacitor 331, a resistor 340, and the collector of a transistor 341.The other end of the resistor 340 is connected to resistors 342, 343 andthe base of a transistor 344, and the collector of the transistor 344 isconnected to the output end K. The other end of the resistor 343 isconnected to the cathode of a Zener diode 345, and the anode of theZener diode 345 is connected to a DIC 346 and a capacitor 347. The DIC346 and the other end of the capacitor 347 are connected to a resistor348 and the base of the transistor 341, and the other end of theresistor 348 is connected to the emitter of the transistor 341, aresistor 349, and a capacitor 332. The other end of the resistor 349 isconnected to the output end F. The other end of the capacitor 332 isconnected to the resistor 342 and the emitter of the transistor 344.Also, a resistor 350 as the de-polarization means is connected betweenthe output ends K and F.

The operation of the embodiment in FIG. 13 based on the above circuitconstitution will be described.

The boosted output pulses from the boosted pulse generating means 220are input via the diode 330 to the capacitor 331. At this time, thetransistors 341 and 344 are in the OFF state. At the same time, thecapacitor 332 is charged via the resistors 340 and 342, and thecapacitor 347 is charged via the resistor 343 and the Zener diode 345.Thus, the terminal voltage of the DIC 346 gradually rises, and when thevoltage reaches the breakdown voltage, the DIC 346 is turned ON and thecurrent flows to the direction of the resistor 348, resulting in an ONstate of the transistors 341 and 344. In this state, the capacitors 331and 332 are connected in series via the transistor 341, and thus adoubled voltage is generated and output via the transistor 344 to theoutput end K. Additionally, the transistor 344 is constituted by a PNPtype, but may be constituted by an NPN type. Also, the ratings of thecapacitors 331, 332, and other electrical elements are not restrictedand can be suitably selected. Moreover, for the transistors, it isdevious that any active element having switching characteristics can beused.

Furthermore, a preferable embodiment in concrete use, i.e., an exampleof the constitution of the circuit at a start of operation upon thewearer, is shown in FIG. 14.

In FIG. 14, a boosting circuit 320 consists of the inductor 224 and theswitching element 223 shown in FIG. 12, and low frequency pulseoutputting means 321 can have the circuit constitution shown in FIG. 11or FIG. 13. The output of the outputting means 321 is connected via adiode 322 to the output end K and via a resistor 323 to a battery source310. The resistor 323 has a much greater value of resistance than theorganism impedance, and the end opposite to the power source 310 of theresistor is connected to a resistor 324. The other end of the resistor324 is connected to one input of a NOR gate 325. The NOR gate 325 and aninverter 326 constitute an astable multivibrator OSC together with acapacitor 327 and resistors 328, 329. The output of this astablemultivibrator OSC is connected to the boosting circuit 320.

Next, the operation of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatusbased on the constitution in FIG. 14 will be described.

Initially, assuming that there is nothing connected between the outputends K and F and that, at this time, one input of the NOR gate 325 issupplied with the output of the small-sized power source 310 via theresistors 323 and 324, and is at the "high" level. In this case, theoscillating circuit OSC does not effect an oscillating operation sincethe output of the NOR gate 325 is at the "low" level irrespective of thelevel of the other input of the NOR gate 325. Note, when the organismimpedance RZ is connected between the output ends K and F, a majority ofconnects from the small-sized power source 310 flow into the organismimpedance RZ. That is, since one input of the NOR gate 325 becomes "low"level, the oscillating circuit OSC starts an oscillating operation. Inthis case, the resistor 323 and the organism impedance RZ are selectedunder the condition of (323) >>(RZ). Additionally, although the aboveoscillating circuit OSC is constituted by utilizing gates, it is notrestricted to that constitution since any oscillating circuit in whichan oscillating operation is stopped by the change in the load impedanceupon the wearer can be employed.

Furthermore, an example of the circuit constitution of the small-sizedlow frequency curing apparatus automatically stopping operation afterstart of the operation is shown in FIG. 15.

In FIG. 15, 221 denotes the oscillating circuit 221 shown in FIG. 12,and 321 denotes the low frequency pulse outputting means shown in FIG.11, FIG. 13, or FIG. 14. The output signal from the oscillating circuit221 is input to one input of a NOR gate 401, and the output of the NORgate 401 is input to the base of a transistor 402. The output of the lowfrequency pulse outputting means 321 is output as the low frequencypulses at the output end K, is input via a resistor 403 to the clockinput end CP of a counter 404, and is input via resistors 405 and 406 tothe reset input end RT of the counter 404. In this case, the reset inputend RT is at the "high" level when the organism impedance RZ is notconnected between the output ends K and F and the counter 404 is in thereset state. Also, when the organism impedance RZ is connected, the lowfrequency pulses are input via the resistor 403 to the input end CP. Atthis time, at the reset input end RT, the low frequency pulses areintegrated by the resistor 405 and the capacitor 407 and become "low"level. Thus, the counter 404 is brought to the counting state. Thecounter 404 counts pulses, and when the counted value reaches apredetermined value, the output end Q changes from "low" level to "high"level. When one input of the NOR gate 401 is at the "high" level, theoutput thereof is at the "low" level irrespective of the state of theother input and, accordingly, the output operation stops. Therefore,when the counter 404 counts the predetermined count value, the outputthereof Q is at the "high" level, and thus the NOR gate 401 is closedand the generation of low frequency pulses is cut off. Additionally,although the above counter 404 is constituted so that the countingthereof is effected based on the low frequency output pulses, it is alsopossible to effect the counting based on the pulses generated at theoscillating circuit 221.

An overall circuit constitution of the small-sized low frequency curingapparatus using a DIC (diac) as a switching element is shown in FIG. 16.

In FIG. 16, 510 denotes a power source comprising a button-type batteryhaving a nominal DC voltage of about 3 V (2LR53: Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Ltd.). The output of the battery 510 is connected via aresistor 520 to the output end K and input via resistors 520 and 521 toone input of a NOR gate 523 in an astable multivibrator 524. The outputof the astable multivibrator 524 constituted including the NOR gate 523is input to the base of a switching transistor 525. This astablemultivibrator 524 oscillates pulses having a frequency of about 1 to 2kHz. The collector of the switching transistor 525 is connected to oneend of an inductor 522, and the other end thereof is connected to thepower source 510. Also, the collector of the switching transistor 525 isconnected to the anode of a diode 526, and the cathode thereof isconnected to a capacitor 530 (about 0.1 μF), a resistor 540, and theemitter of a PNP type transistor 541. The other end of the resistor 540is connected to the base of the transistor 541 and via a resistor 542 tothe cathode of a Zener diode 543. The anode of the Zener diode 543 isconnected to a capacitor 544 and a DIC 545 connected in parallel witheach other. The collector of the transistor 541 is connected directly tothe output end K, to which the organism impedance RZ is connected via anelectrode and the like. Additionally, the impedance RZ and the resistor520 have the relationship (520)>(RZ).

Next, the operation of the low frequency curing apparatus based on thecircuit constitution in FIG. 16 will be described.

First, before the impedance RZ is connected, the output of the battery510 is input via the resistors 520 and 521 to one input of the NOR gate523 in the astable multivibrator 524 at the "high" level. Thus, theoutput of the NOR gate 523 is at the "low" level irrespective of thelevel at the other input of the NOR gate 523. Therefore, the oscillatingoperation is not effected.

Next, when the impedance RZ is connected, the potential at one input ofthe NOR gate 523 is input via the resistor 521 to the body resistanceRZ. At this time, the potential at one input of the NOR gate 523indicates a value divided by the resistor 520 and the impedance RZ, andis at the "low" level. Thus, the NOR gate 523 is opened and theoscillating operation is started. The battery energy is intermittentlysupplied to the inductor 522 by the output signal of the astablemultivibrator 524, and thus the counter electro-motive force isgenerated in the inductor 522. For example, the peak value of thiscounter e.m.f. is about 50 V, and the pulses to the diode 526 are theboosted pulses having a frequency of 1 to 2 kHz and a peak amplitude of50 V. The boosted pulses are input to the capacitor 530. Since thetransistor 541 is initially in the "OFF" state, the boosted pulses areaccumulated in the capacitor 530. At the same time, the boosted pulsesare charged via the Zener diode 543 to the capacitor 544, and thus theterminal voltage across the capacitor 544 gradually rises. When theterminal voltage of the capacitor 544 reaches a predetermined value, theDIC 545 becomes "ON" and the capacitor 544 starts to discharge,resulting in an "ON" state of the transistor 541. The electrical energyaccumulated in the capacitor 530 is applied via the transistor 541 tothe organism impedance RZ.

By the discharge of the capacitor 544, the terminal voltage of the DIC545 is gradually decreased and quickly turned "OFF". Thus, thetransistor 541 is turned OFF and the discharge of the capacitor 544quickly ceases.

Furthermore, an example of the constitution of the circuit starting tooperate upon the wearer of the small-sized low frequency curingapparatus on the organism and automatically stopping the operation aftera predetermined time is shown in FIG. 17.

The circuit shown in FIG. 17 is a combination of means capable ofboosting the amplitude of low frequency pulses up to twice or more thatshown in FIG. 13 (capacitors 631 and 632 in FIG. 17), the boosted pulsegenerating means shown in FIG. 15, means starting to operate upon thewearer shown in FIG. 14, means automatically stopping the operationafter a predetermined time shown in FIG. 15, and a resistor 650 as thede-polarization means. Since the constitution and operation are asaforementioned, the explanation will be omitted. The power source 610employs a micro battery (a button-type battery having a nominal voltageof 3 V) and can generate cenesthesic low frequency pulses. Here, anadditional operation is unnecessary during use, and a continuous use ofover 100 hours can be realized since the dissipation of energy isrestrained as much as possible. Moreover, the present apparatus is verysimple and can be made small in size by the integration thereof.

As described above by way of several embodiments, the present inventionrealizes the low frequency curing apparatus capable of generating lowfrequency pulses having a predetermined voltage and current bygenerating boosted pulses in the small-sized power source such as asmall-sized battery, accumulating the boosted pulses in, for example, acapacitor, and discharging the accumulated charges instantly. Also, theapparatus according to the present invention has a simple constitution,and thus gives remarkable effects in practice, e.g., it can be madesmaller in size to an extent such that it can be applied to the skin.

Also, it is possible to produce sufficient electrical energy tostimulate the organism from a power source having a small absolutecapacity, and thus to generate stable low frequency stimulation pulses.Furthermore, the low frequency curing apparatus according to the presentinvention not only possesses the form suitable for reduction to anextent such as a bandage, but also can realize a long-time and stableoperation.

The overall construction of the small-sized low frequency curingapparatus of the present invention will be hereinafter described withreference to several embodiments.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate an example of the overall construction.FIG. 18A is a cross sectional view taken along the line P--P in FIG.18B. In the figures, 700 denotes a small-sized low frequency curingapparatus constructed as the type which can be applied to the skin,i.e., the plaster type, and comprises an electrode 701 participating incuring and an electrode 702 not participating in curing. The electrode701 is integrally formed by laminating a skin-adhesive conductive gellayer 703 formed into a flexible sheet or film and a conductive materiallayer 704 formed by a metal foil such as an aluminium foil, conductiverubber, resin film, carbon film, conductive paint or the like. Also, theelectrode 702 is integrally formed by laminating a skin-adhesiveconductive gel layer 705 formed into a flexible sheet or film and aconductive material layer 706 formed by the above aluminium foil or thelike. A power source unit 707 is mounted approximately in the center ofthe upper surface of the electrode 701. This power source unit 707 isprovided to include a hybrid circuit having a power source, e.g., abutton-type battery and the de-polarization means, and to contact oneoutput terminal thereof, e.g., the minus terminal, with the conductivematerial layer 704. Also, the plus terminal of this power source unit707 is connected to the conductive material layer 706 of the electrode702 through a lead line 708 of, for example, aluminium foil, the lowersurface of which is coated with insulating material except the vicinityof the side ends of the unit. 709 denotes an insulating backing layer,which consists of, for example, non-conductive synthetic resins formedinto a flexible sheet or film. The electrode 701 and the electrode 702are arranged apart from each other on the insulating backing layer 709and stuck to the layer.

Next, the operation and use of the small-sized low frequency curingapparatus constructed as described above will be described. First, theapparatus is applied to the position requiring the curing on the body,so that the electrode 701 is in contact with that position. At thistime, the electrode 701 and the electrode 702 constitute a closedcircuit, and thus the constitution in which pulses can be oscillated inrealized. As a result, the low frequency pulses can be applied via theelectrode 701 to the body.

According to the present example, it is possible to obtain thesmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus which can be applied directlyto the body skin, easily operated, light-weight and can providesufficient curing effects.

Another example of the overall construction is shown in FIGS. 19A and19B. FIG. 19A is a cross sectional view taken along the line Q--Q inFIG. 19B. In the figure, 720 denotes a small-sized low frequency curingapparatus, 721 denotes an electrode participating in curing, and 722denotes an electrode not participating in curing. The conductivematerial layers 723 and 724 of the electrodes 721 and 722, respectively,are arranged at a space of about 5 mm. A conductive gel layer 725 thinlyformed into a thickness of about 0.3 mm is applied so as to cover thewhole of the lower surface of the conductive material layers. Also, theelectrodes 721 and 722 are integrally supported and coupled by aninsulating backing layer 726. 727 and 728 are terminals connected to theelectrodes 721 and 722, respectively. The top portions of the terminals727 and 728 penetrate through the insulating backing layer 726 andproject therefrom. A power source unit 729 including a small-sized powersource and an electronic circuit is electrically connected andmechanically supported by the terminals 727 and 728.

The use of the small-sized low frequency curing apparatus of the presentexample is the same as in the aforementioned first embodiment, and thusthe explanation will be omitted. According to the present example, theconductive gel layer to be arranged on the electrodes 721 and 722 isconstructed by applying a single conductive gel layer 725 to theconductive material layers 723 and 724, and thus a small leak currentflows between the electrodes. However, since the conductive gel layerper se possesses a resistance and the distance between the conductivematerial layers 723 and 724 is much greater than the thickness of theconductive gel layer 725, the resistor body arranged between theelectrodes 721 and 722 can function as the de-polarization means.

According to the form shown in FIGS. 19A and 19B, it is possible toobtain the effects of a very simple and efficient manufacturing process,besides the effects in the aforementioned first embodiment. That is, itis possible to obtain a device by mounting only terminals and a powersource on a portion cut off with a predetermined length from a tape-likesheet which is constructed by laminating a conductive gel layer, aconductive material layer, and an insulating backing layer. This is veryuseful from the viewpoint of mass production. Furthermore, by shorteningthe arrangement distance of both terminals and mounting a power sourceapproximately in the center of the upper surface of the device, it ispossible to substantially disregard the influence of the size of thepower source on the whole device. Thus, even if the device is applied toa curved surface on the body, it is possible to use the device withoutlosing flexibility.

Still another example of the overall construction is shown in FIG. 20.In the figure, 740 denotes a device representing a small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus, 741 denotes an electrode participating incuring, and 742 denotes an electrode not participating in curing. 743denotes a power source unit, the minus terminal of which is connected toa conductive material layer 744 of the electrode 741, and the plusterminal of which is connected via a lead line 745 to a conductivematerial layer 746 of the electrode 742. 747 denotes a conductive gellayer.

According to the present example, since the electrode 741 and theelectrode 742 can be applied to the body with a suitably spaced distancewithin the length of the lead line 745, it is possible to use the deviceeven when the region on which it is to be applied is small or has arelatively great curvature. Also, even if the skin sweats greatly duringuse in hot and humid conditions, the electrodes are not influenced bythe current flowing through the epidermis since they are spaced apart,and thus a good skin-adhesive low frequency curing apparatus of aplastic type can be obtained.

The skin-adhesive conductive gel is an electrically conductive gelhaving good skin-adhesive properties, and it is preferable to use a gelof the type disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.54-77489 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,110 issued Nov. 14,1978.

We claim:
 1. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus comprising:asmall-sized low voltage and direct-current power source; a boosted pulsegenerating means for generating a train of boosted pulses at a highfrequency upon receipt of electrical energy from said power source; anelectrical energy accumulating means operatively connected to saidboosted pulse generating means, for accumulating electrical energy ofsaid train of pulses generated from said boosted pulse generating meansduring a predetermined time period defined to accumulate said electricalenergy at least to a stimulation level sufficient for curing an objectto be electrically stimulated; a low frequency pulse outputting meansoperatively connected to said electrical energy accumulating means, foroutputting electrical energy accumulated in said accumulating means aslow frequency pulses, each defining an output time period, for use insaid curing, said low frequency pulse outputting means being operatedperiodically and alternately together with said accumulating means; anda pair of electrodes provided on a sheet-like member having askin-adhesive electrically conductive layer and operatively connected tosaid low frequency pulse outputting means, for transmitting said lowfrequency pulses from said low frequency pulse outputting means via saidskin-adhesive, electrically conductive layer to said object when saidpair of electrodes are applied to said object; said power source,boosted pulse generating means, electrical accumulating means and lowfrequency pulse outputting means being formed integrally with at leastone of said electrodes.
 2. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatusas set forth in claim 1, further comprising de-polarization meansoperatively connected to said pair of electrodes, for dischargingpolarization charges which remain within said object to be stimulatedafter said low frequency pulses are applied to said object to bestimulated.
 3. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forthin claim 2, in which said de-polarization means comprises a resistorconnected in parallel with output ends of said low frequency pulseoutputting means.
 4. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as setforth in claim 2, in which said de-polarization means comprises atransformer, the primary winding thereof being connected in series withoutput end of said low frequency pulse outputting means, the secondarywinding thereof being connected in series with said small-sized powersource.
 5. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth inclaim 2, in which said low frequency pulse outputting means comprises aunidirectional switching element having a control terminal and acapacitor connected in parallel with said switching element, saidswitching element being turned ON when a first voltage appearing acrosssaid capacitor exceeds a second voltage appearing at said controlterminal according to the output of said boosted pulse generating meansand turned OFF when said first voltage is below said second voltage,whereby electrical energy accumulated in said accumulating means istransduced according to ON/OFF operation of said switching element intolow frequency pulses having an amplitude sufficient for said curing. 6.A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 2, inwhich said low frequency pulse outputting means comprises abidirectional switching element and a capacitor connected in parallelwith said switching element, said switching element being turned ON whena third voltage appearing across said capacitor exceeds a predeterminedvalue and turned OFF when said third voltage is below said predeterminedvalue, whereby electrical energy accumulated in said accumulating meansis transduced according to ON/OFF operation of said switching elementinto low frequency pulse having an amplitude sufficient for said curing7. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 2,wherein said accumulating means comprises a plurality of capacitors, andsaid low frequency pulse outputting means simultaneously outputselectrical energy accumulated in said plurality of capacitors whenoutputting electrical energy to be transduced into low frequency pulses.8. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 7,further comprising operation stopping means for counting pulsesgenerated from said low frequency pulse outputting means or said boostedpulse generating means, and stopping the generation of pulses from saidboosted pulse generating means when said counted value of pulses exceedsa predetermined value.
 9. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatusas set forth in claim 8, in which said boosted pulse generating meanscomprises a resistor for inputting current from said small-sized powersource, and the output end of said low frequency pulse outputting meansis connected such that current from said small-sized power source canflow thereinto, the resistance value of said inputting resistor beingselected at least depending upon the magnitude of the impedance of theobject to be stimulated, whereby said boosted pulse generating meansstarts the generation of pulses when said low frequency curing apparatusis applied via said output end to said object.
 10. A small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which said lowfrequency pulse outputting means comprises a unidirectional switchingelement having a control terminal and a capacitor connected in parallelwith said switching element, said switching element being turned ON whena first voltage appearing across said capacitor exceeds a second voltageappearing at said control terminal according to the output of saidboosted pulse generating means and turned OFF when said first voltage isbelow said second voltage, whereby electrical energy accumulated in saidaccumulating means is transduced according to ON/OFF operation of saidswitching element into low frequency pulses having an amplitudesufficient for said curing.
 11. A small-sized low frequency curingapparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which said low frequency pulseoutputting means comprises a bidirectional switching element and acapacitor connected in parallel with said switching element, saidswitching element being turned ON when a third voltage appearing acrosssaid capacitor exceeds a predetermined value and turned OFF when saidthird voltage is below said predetermined value, whereby electricalenergy accumulated in said accumulating means is transduced according toON/OFF operation of said switching element into low frequency pulseshaving an amplitude sufficient for said curing.
 12. A small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidaccumulating means comprises a plurality of capacitors, and said lowfrequency pulse outputting means simultaneously outputs electricalenergy accumulated in said plurality of capacitors when outputtingelectrical energy to be transduced into low frequency pulses.
 13. Asmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 12,further comprising operation stopping means for counting pulsesgenerated from said low frequency pulse outputting means or said boostedpulse generating means, and stopping the generation of pulses from saidboost pulse generating means when said counted value of pulses exceeds apredetermined value.
 14. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus asset forth in claim 13, in which said boosted pulse generating meanscomprises a resistor for inputting current from said small-sized powersource, and the output end of said low frequency pulse outputting meansis connected such that current from said small-sized power source canflow thereinto, the resistance value of said inputting resistor beingselected at least depending upon the magnitude of the impedance of theobject to be stimulated, whereby said boosted pulse generating meansstarts the generation of pulses when said low frequency curing apparatusis applied via said output end to said object.
 15. A small-sized lowfrequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidsmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus is of the plaster-type, saidelectrodes each comprising an electrically conductive material layerhaving a skin-adhesive conductive gel layer laminated on a first surfacethereof, and said power source being provided on a second surface ofsaid conductive material layer opposite said first surface.
 16. Asmall-sized low frequency curing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,wherein each of said pair of electrodes are provided on a singlesheet-like member.
 17. A small-sized low frequency curing apparatus asset forth in claim 1, wherein each of said pair of electrodes isprovided on one of two separate sheet-like members connected to eachother by a lead line.